Wardrobe Wednesday

The last few days have been quite hot around here.

 Yesterday was no exception, further demonstrated by Flash who couldn't keep his giant, panting tongue inside his mouth.

The girls wanted me to take them to beach yesterday after school, but instead they settled for dragging out the blue plastic pool and splashing around until dinner time in last year's one size too small swim suits..

Today will be the last of the super warm temps for a while, with a giant storm and cold front moving in right now, putting on one heck of a light show outside.  This morning, lightning knocked out our power for 4 hours which in turn, made me ask myself a very important question, how do I get my car out of the garage during a power outage when I have an ELECTRIC door opener?  Turns out garage door opener manufacturers thought of such a situation and added a handy rope to pull so you can manually open your door and get your car out.  First time I ever had to use it, and when I returned home, the power was back on.  Hopefully it will stay on tonight!

Wardrobe Wednesday

I actually had a few options for Wardrobe Wednesday this week.  I could have taken a photo of all the shoes Flash has chewed apart in recent days, but that would be incredibly depressing.  I also could have posted a photo I took of Binny fully clothed wearing an extra pair of bright blue undies and one of my bras on the outside of her clothing, but oddly enough, I've already done that. 

Instead, I will offer up a mix of Flash's destruction and Binny's knack of finding a wardrobe possibility in almost anything.

The girls brought a plastic inflated ball in from outside for Flash to play with and within about 10 seconds of him noticing its existence, he popped it.  As I walked over to pick it up and throw it in the trash next to my favorite leather sandals he ripped apart just hours earlier, Binny thrust her index finger in the air and said "Ooh! Can I have it?"  Minutes later, it was a hat.

Flash And His Cone

Poor Flashy was so excited Friday morning when I hooked up the leash to his collar and escorted him out to the car. He loves to ride in the car. Most times when he goes for a ride in the car, we go somewhere fun, like ice skating over at Grandpa's. Not this time though.

Even when I put him on the scale at the vet's office, he let out a little excited pee as the vet tech rubbed his head and told him how cute he is. He had no idea what he was in for, but in the end it's all for his own good.

He was neutered (ouch) and had all 4 dewclaws (thumbs) removed (quadruple ouch). The dewclaws were optional but since we live out in the country (read: lots of things to get into) and since he's a very active dog, we decided to have it done so they don't become a problem in the future. Dogs with dewclaws can get them caught and injured and while many dogs have the dewclaws clipped off in the first few days of life, our mutt didn't have that service being born in a calf barn and all with very little human intervention until we picked him up and brought him home with us. So Friday was the day.

Friday afternoon when I brought him home he was groggy and confused and not happy about having a giant cone around his head but after he slept off the anesthesia, he started to perk up. The vet was concerned that he'd be in a lot of pain the first few days but since we've been keeping up with his medication, he's been fine. He'd like to be running around playing fetch and hopping up on the sofa (a no-no anyway but try and tell him that). To amuse himself he's been running into the back of our legs with his giant cone, bruising all of us behind the knees.

The cone needs to stay on for at least 2 weeks until the stitches in his front legs can be removed.
2 weeks is a long time for an energetic puppy.

If Flash Could Talk

Our not so little puppy is finally starting to learn some of the house rules. For a while there I'm pretty sure he thought his name was Dammit Flash. He now knows that peeing on the floor makes me very upset and usually involves him getting pulled around by his collar, a nose rub in the carpet/ rug/ clothing the girls left laying on the floor that was way too easy to pee on without making that telltale splash noise, ending with a walk out the back door. He discovered that standing by the door and barking or ringing the bell is a good way to avoid such unpleasant activities. His biting and chewing are getting better as well but not before he chewed off the upholstery on the end of the foot rest of our recliner and pulled up a silver dollar sized section of carpet out of the living room.

Who's a naughty good boy?

ME, ME, ME! IS THAT A BEGGIN' STRIP? I'M A GOOD BOY!

LOOK AT ME! I CAN DO THIS STAY THING ALL DAY IF YOU WANT. AS LONG AS THAT BEGGIN' STRIP IN YOUR LEFT HAND WILL BECOME MINE IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

WELL, ACTUALLY I NEED THAT BEGGIN' STRIP RIGHT NOW!

LOOK! I CAN LAY DOWN TOO, JUST LIKE YOU ASKED. DOES THAT MEAN I GET ANOTHER ONE?

YES, I DO THINK MY LEFT LEG MAKES A GREAT REST FOR MY UNIT.

YOU'RE NOT GOING TO CUT MY NAILS AGAIN ARE YOU? NO REALLY, THAT SUCKS.

ARE WE DONE YET?

Pre-Wash

Our little puppy has found his own way of being (somewhat) useful.



For those of you who are re-thinking EVER accepting a dinner invitation at our house, I should add that our dishwasher has a sanitize feature.

Sunday Scavenger Hunt (On Monday, But I Swear It's OK)

I've been following Ramblings And Photo's weekly Scavenger Hunt for a few weeks now and every week I have had good intentions to participate, but then I go through the photos I took for the week and realize that I can't use any of them. If I took any at all! Well, not this week. I actually wrote down the 5 items for this week's hunt and made a point to participate this week even if I finally dug out the camera today and got to the list. So anyhow, here goes!

1. In My Home

That's Grandma Dee standing in my kitchen! She was actually peeling potatoes that are boiling on the stove (right now!) so we can make lefse tomorrow. We're so happy to have her here with us for the next 2 weeks, and perfect timing right in the middle of prime Holiday baking time.

2. It's Beginning To Look A Little Lot Like

Winter! There was a lot more snow in Minnesota over the weekend, which made driving there on Friday night a little scary, but we came home to only a dusting of the white stuff. Don't let the lack of snow fool you, it's still cold out!

3. Sweet Treat

While we were in Minnesota over the weekend, the girls, Grandma Dee and my mom when to a gingerbread house making party and this was the house that came home with us.

4. Time

...To play Bingo! Grandma and I are going out tonight to play Bingo. Wish us luck! (This photo is an oldie but I thought it would work.)

5. Everyday

He grows! Flash is already up to 25 pounds with no sign of slowing anytime soon. More appropriate would be one of our shoes in his mouth. He likes to steal one from the back door every time he comes in the house and chews on it until we take it away.

For all of the Sunday Scavenger Hunt links, click here!

Thanksgiving Day Menu

I was hoping to sleep in today considering our Thanksgiving meal won't be until this evening and I'll have all day to cook and prep, but at 3:30 this morning, my eyes popped open. I tried rolling around a while hoping I could drift back off to sleep, but that didn't happen. Once I made a trip to the bathroom, Flash must have heard me, then let out a few loud barks to let me know that he would like to empty his bladder too. After a cold and rainy trip outside, he was ready to play and wouldn't even consider going back to his bed for a few hours. Damn dog needs to learn how to tell time! Anyhow, I'm up and since I've been a very bad blogger this month, not meeting my NaBloPoMo goals, I thought now while the rest of my family is sound asleep and not requesting that I make them something to eat, or clean something, or play Candy Land for the millionth time, I would take a few minutes and share our Thanksgiving day menu.

Once again, the Gardener and I are hosting Thanksgiving dinner for his family. We usually eat late in the day on Thanksgiving as not to upset the deer hunters in the family who are still searching for a prize buck in the fields. So far no one I know has been successful in bagging a deer yet, but there are still a few days to go before Wisconsin's gun deer season comes to an end. So, once the boys head out of the field, they will be coming over here, undoubtedly hungry for a big meal of Turkey and all the fixings. Not that they'll actually find a turkey on the table at our house.

For the second year in a row, I have decided to go with a local free-range chicken instead of a turkey. I guess, if our local egg lady grew turkeys, we might have gone that route but since her chickens are out of this world, it was a no brainer. She saved a big 11 pounder for me the last time she and her husband butchered and that's what we will be eating today. I initially froze the fresh chicken, then thawed it out in the fridge earlier this week and made the brine yesterday. The chicken is currently out in the garage soaking away in this brine mixture. Normally I would be bitching about the cold snap that has overtaken our area in the last few days, but outdoor refrigeration is quite handy during the holidays.

Most store bought frozen turkeys (or chickens) do not need to be brined since the manufacturer usually brines them before freezing, but fresh birds like ours have not been treated with anything (but love!) and need to be soaked in a salt water brine for 16-24 hours for a most delicious flavor. I had planned on grilling a red wine chicken like I did last year, but with the cold and windy weather, I decided that running outside to check the bird on the grill every 30 minutes was not something I wanted to do, so I 'm going to roast it in the oven.

Besides chicken, I'm making whipped mashed potatoes with butter and cream cheese mixed in, grandma Dee's stuffing- traditional dried bread stuffing with sauteed onions, celery, carrots, apple, dried cranberries, and chicken stock to hold it all together. she always used raisins, but we prefer craisins in this house. Squash from the garden with butter and either brown sugar or a drizzling of maple syrup, cranberry sauce (made by Mae yesterday), a fresh fruit salad and roasted brussel sprouts with balsamic vinegar and bacon. For dessert my father-in-law is bringing pumpkin pie, and if I get time later today, I'll make an apple pie with some home canned apple pie filling leftover from last year that I need to use up, and pie crust made with lard from the pig we bought from the same local farmer from which the chicken (and bacon) came. I can't wait to get cooking and EATING!

So, for my American readers, what are your Thanksgiving plans today? Are you cooking or enjoying someone else's cooking today? I'd love to hear your Thanksgiving favorites, or even your least favorite. My least favorite is when cooks pollute the stuffing with the bag of Turkey innards that comes with most frozen birds. You know, the gizzard, neck, heart and liver? Talk about a quick way to ruin one of the best Thanksgiving day sides. That and anything with cream of _____ soup mixed in. Yuck! But that's just my opinion.

Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Flash's Close Up

It's a good thing we picked up this mutt a few weeks ago. If not, I'd really have nothing to blog about.

I Can't Even Think Of aTitle For This

What's Brown And White And Shits On My Floor?

A puppy!
We had been checking the classifieds and shelter websites for a few weeks and finally on Saturday, since it was raining and I had to cancel my afternoon outdoor photo shoot, we decided to call on a litter of puppies and drive half-way across the state to go look at them.

We knew we wanted to start from scratch with a brand new puppy, but we didn't really have a preference of breed. The Gardener wanted something smaller than our last 2 dogs but not rodent dog small. I wanted another big dog, something 100 pounds or more. The girls just wanted a dog.

After two hours of driving in the rain, we arrived at the dairy farm where the puppies were. We took one look at the little fur balls playing in the calf shed and knew we would be bringing one home with us. There were six puppies left from a litter of ten(!) St. Bernard-Blue Heeler mix mutts. The mom was the Blue Heeler and the dad was a big and filthy (again with the rain) St. Bernard. The puppies were all so cute that it was hard to choose one but eventually after looking them all over and tipping them up to see which ones had the equipment we were looking for (not that it matters since he will be neutered when the time comes), I picked this little boy and that was it. He was ours! Well, after I paid for him, of course.
The first whole day he had no name. We all just called him Puppy while trying out every name we could think of. Binny came up with some silly suggestions like car and tree and cat and mailbox. Finally, the next day, the Gardener had a Dukes of Hazzard flashback moment and started calling him Flash. You know, Sheriff Roscoe's lazy Basset Hound?
So far he's been about 70/30 with the whole housebreaking thing. Good thing he's small and his messes are small too. Every time we take him outside, he goes, but sometimes he'll have just gone out, then five minutes later squat and pee on the rug. Then back outside. He'll get it eventually...

So lets hear it! How cute is he?